


Embrace

by aj_linguistik



Series: October Prompt Challenge [20]
Category: Fruits Basket (Anime 2019)
Genre: Comfort, Crying, F/M, October Prompt Challenge, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:35:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27120526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_linguistik/pseuds/aj_linguistik
Summary: Kyo returns home to see that Tohru isn't there to greet him with a smile. It's nice to have some peace in quiet, but he finds himself rather worried that something's wrong. He wants to find out and offer whatever help he can.
Relationships: Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou
Series: October Prompt Challenge [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949194
Comments: 8
Kudos: 59





	Embrace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [disasterbiKirito](https://archiveofourown.org/users/disasterbiKirito/gifts).



> A/N: Wow, I have made it to day 20. What a ride this has been! Today's prompt was crying, and babe requested some soft KyoTohru. This was interesting to write; Kyo's very rough around the edges but he gets so soft around Tohru, so it's fun to me to try and work out the feelings of characters who are soft for That One Person TM. I hope you like it!

The house was strangely peaceful and quiet when Kyo returned from the dojo. He didn’t particularly want to deal with Shigure or Yuki as it was, but Tohru’s voice couldn’t be heard greeting him cheerily as he walked through the door. A part of him told him to ignore it and enjoy the peace and quite while it lasted. Another felt like something important was missing in the house. He frowned, glanced around the front room, and then headed upstairs. Perhaps Tohru was just quietly doing homework in her room.

He stepped into the hallway and turned his ear towards her door. He couldn’t hear anything from the top of the stairs, so he headed over to her door, padding quietly along the hallway so as not to make any noise. The closer her got to her door, the more he held his breath. He wanted to make sure he could hear and really know whether or not she was in her room. He leaned over, pressing his ear to the door, and closed his eyes so that he could listen.

“What are you doing?”

Kyo snapped up to attention and whirled around to the source of the voice. Yuki was standing at the top of the stairs glaring over at him. What a way to ruin his peace and quiet! A rat had infested the space. Yuki sighed and walked towards him, likely heading to his own room. He glanced at Tohru’s door and shook his head.

“Honda is out at the moment,” he said. “You would know that if you’d been paying attention, stupid cat.”

Clenching his fists, he tried his best to curb the urge to reach over and throw a punch at Yuki’s pretty face. He really had a way of getting under his skin and agitating him more than was necessary. Yuki reached down and opened his own bedroom door. He sighed and offered him one last bit of commentary.

“She’s gone down to the cemetery,” he said, his voice gentler than before. “She said she wanted to talk to her mother.”

Kyo felt something in his chest tighten unpleasantly. Tohru had gone alone to the cemetery? He knew that was a red flag. She was always accompanied by someone. He hurried over to the staircase. He had to go and find her and make sure that she was okay. Yuki cleared his throat, making him stop in his tracks and look back over at the rat.

“What are you doing now?” he sighed. “Honda probably wants time to herself.”

Sucking his teeth, Kyo unclenched his fists and then balled them up again.

“She always tries to take on things on her own,” Kyo said. “But she’s always there for us, even when it probably hurts her to be there for us! If she’s feeling down, I’m not going to let her go and cry alone!”

Yuki’s brow raised just a little bit, likely surprised.

“Since when did you care?” he mumbled.

Kyo didn’t have time to sit and bicker with Yuki, no matter how badly he wanted to punch the guy’s lights out. He tore down the stairs and flew out of the house at top speed. Yuki just didn’t get it. He was all high and mighty about wanting to give Tohru space, but that wasn’t what she needed right now. If she was hurting, if she was crying—she needed a shoulder to lean on. She always looked out for everyone but herself. It was her turn to be cared for.

He stopped short at a crosswalk and impatiently waited for it to turn green. He bounced on the balls of his feet as he anticipated the green light, which gained him a few odd stares. That was fine—he was used to odd stares for his hair color. He didn’t care about the crowd around him. He just wanted to get to Tohru in time.

_Before she turns around and acts like she’s fine again._

The light changed, and he gave a quick glance both ways before he took off down the crosswalk. The cemetery wasn’t super close to Shigure’s house, but that was no problem. He was in shape and he could cover a lot of ground running. He zipped in and out of the people walking slowly on the sidewalks, quickly navigating his way through the city to get to his destination. It was up on a hilltop, so he encountered a fair number of stairs on his way there.

When he reached the top, he scanned the cemetery for any signs of Tohru leaving. He didn’t see anyone in the vicinity who looked like her, so he marched on towards the Honda family grave. She was likely sitting down there, probably doing something irresponsible like sharing a meal with her mother. He almost wanted to laugh at the thought. She was so carefree and only cared about others in times like this—even the thoughts of her dead mother were more important than her own. He shook his head and turned the corner.

Down at the end, as he’d suspected, Tohru was sitting down in front of the family grave, on her knees. She was leaned over and appeared to be talking. He took his time approaching her, not wanting to startle her by appearing suddenly and out of nowhere. He watched her as her mouth moved, still somehow turned up into a smile as she spoke. Stopping where he was, he waited. Was she smiling because she was fine, or was she smiling because she was forcing herself to, even now?

Something caught his eye as he watched her. There was a glint of sunlight for just a moment between her face and her lap. He squinted to look at her more closely. There were tears running down her face. They slipped down her cheeks and then dripped off of the tip of her chin to fall into her lap or onto the ground. Once again, his fingers curled up into fists. Tohru had come out here all on her own to cry. He wouldn’t allow her to continue to sit here without someone by her side. He stepped forward and hurried over to her. He stopped just over her and gazed down at her.

“Oi, Tohru.”

She lifted her head up in surprise. She blinked up at him and quickly began to wipe the tears off of her face, as ready as ever to appear okay to those around her. Kyo sighed and dropped down beside her. He pulled his shirt up and started to dry off her cheeks with it. Her face scrunched up a little bit.

“Wh-what are you doing here, Kyo-kun?” she stammered.

He sighed and dropped his shirt.

“I was looking for you,” he said. “Yuki said you’d come all the way out here. I didn’t want you to sit and cry alone.”

Tohru’s eyes wavered in the sunlight, clearly glossed over by the tears she was having trouble hiding. She couldn’t deny that she was crying, could she? It was fairly obvious from her reddened eyes and puffy eyelids. But she opened her mouth to deny it anyways. Why? He couldn’t understand her motivation for doing so. She forced another smile and shook her head.

“I’m not crying,” she said, her voice wavering much like her eyes. “I just came to say hello to my mother.”

Kyo glanced over to the grave and sighed.

“Mrs. Honda, didn’t you ever think to tell Tohru she’s a little _too_ selfless?” he said, sighing and adjusting his position so that he was fully seated on the ground. “I came all of the way out here to check on her and she’s worried about smiling for my sake.”

Tohru waved her hands.

“No, no, Kyo-kun!” she said. “I’m just—”

He looked back over at Tohru and met her gaze.

“It’s okay to cry,” he said. “If you’re sad because you miss her or if something happened that’s weighing you down for some reason, it’s okay for you to cry, Tohru. If you…if you want a shoulder to cry on, I’m right here.”

The words coming out of his mouth sounded embarrassing. They sounded like something that Tohru herself might say to him. When had he gone and gotten so sentimental and soft? It was only around her. He felt a bit of heat in his cheeks. He turned his gaze back towards the grave, not wanting to keep locking eyes with her. He heard her start to giggle beside him. He whipped his head back around, feeling the heat start to intensify.

“Wh-what are you laughing for?” he stammered.

She sighed and offered him yet another bright, kind smile. It was that smile that she gave when she saw right through a person, looking at them not as the sum of all of their troubles and mistakes and burdens, but rather just as another soul in need of love and kindness. It filled his chest with warmth. Hadn’t he come out here to comfort her? This seemed backwards.

“Thank you, Kyo-kun,” she said.

He bit his lip and fought the urge to wrap his arms around her. He wanted to scream out to her to forget about being strong for him. The tears escaping from the sides of her eyes begged for comfort. If only his curse didn’t prevent him from offering it wholeheartedly. He reached out for her, careful not to fully embrace her, and he rested her head against his shoulder. He heard her sniffle as she tried to fight the sob creeping up her throat.

“Just let it all out, silly,” he said.

Tohru leaned into his shoulder and buried her face in his chest as she let out a wail. He cautiously reached up and stroked her back. How long had she been holding it all in? Even in the cemetery, where no one she knew was watching, she’d held in her feelings just to try and be strong and pleasant for everyone around her. Her consideration was sweet, but he could feel the stress pouring out of her now.

Whatever made her heart feel so heavy, he wanted to relieve her of it. Even if now was the only moment in which she’d let him do it, he had to be here for her to cry. When time passed by and she was taken away from him forever, would she find someone she could cry on? The thought of it being someone else made his stomach turn into a tight knot. He wanted to be that person. He didn’t want to lose her.

He drew in a breath. What was the matter with him today? He really was starting to sound just like a sentimental idiot. What was it about Honda Tohru that made him want to protect her and be there for her, just like she was for him? As he stroked her back, the urge to hug her grew stronger and stronger. He silently swore to himself. She needed someone that she could embrace. He was holding back with all of his might. But she needed an embrace right now. He reached over and lifted up her head after checking the area quickly.

“Forgive me,” he said.

Unable to resist any longer, he thrust his arms around her neck. For the brief moment that they embraced, he felt her body relax. He wanted to laugh as he reminded himself that this short second wasn’t nearly enough to dry up her tears and ease her heavy heart. As he climbed out of his clothing and stared up at her from her lap, he expected to see a disappointed look in her eyes. But she scooped him up into her arms and buried her face in his fur as she quietly sobbed. He wrapped a paw around her arm.

“You don’t have to bottle it all up alone, Tohru,” he said. “It’s okay to be like this sometimes. You’re always saying such kind things when I’m feeling upset.”

He felt her nod her head. He sighed and leaned his own head against her shoulder, hoping this was enough for her. One day, if the curse ever did break, he wanted to truly embrace her. The hope of one day offering her that form of comfort filled his chest with an indescribable warmth. He’d be there for her one day. For some reason, he could feel it. He wasn’t one to be optimistic about this sort of thing, but the way she held him close now told him that one day, he’d get to do exactly that and return all of the kindness she’d ever shown to him.

And he looked forward to that day.


End file.
